Texans Notes: Hot times for Duane Brown

TEXANS SUMMARY

Published 5:30 am, Sunday, July 27, 2008

Hot times for Brown

Rookie Duane Brown got his wake-up moment of training camp just two days into it. He struggled to deal with the heat during the morning practice, and had to leave the field before it was over. He returned to participate in all of the afternoon session inside the bubble.

“Ah, man, it was terrible,” Brown said. “It didn’t get this hot in Virginia. Me, being young, I thought I could just come out there and do my thing, but there’s a lot more to it.”

The Texans are giving Brown a lot of repetitions at left tackle, and Saturday was the first day they donned shells under their jerseys. The coaches are also working with Brown to lose about 10 pounds. He said he hopes to get down to 315 pounds soon.

“(He) just got gassed,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “Taking a lot of reps, which he’s going to do, and he’s a little bit overweight right now. ... In this business, you’ve got to be able to go all day, and he’s figuring that out, and we’ve got to catch him up with everybody else.”

No help needed

Second-year defensive tackle Amobi Okoye is enjoying walking off the practice field with just his helmet and his pads. A year ago, his hands were filled as veterans dumped their gear on him.

“I just watch as the veterans ask the rookies to carry their helmets and I think, ‘Ha ha ha. That was me last year,’ ” Okoye said.

He hasn’t gotten up the nerve to ask anyone to carry his gear though. And he has no intention of asking fellow defensive tackle Frank Okam to do it down the road.

“I’ll just carry mine,” Okoye said. “If they volunteer to carry it then I’ll give it to them. But I’ll keep mine for another three or four years, because those guys are all still older than me.”

Okoye is 21 years old, Okam 22.

Alternate plans

Veteran pass rusher Rosevelt Colvin did not participate in the team’s morning practice Saturday. Coach Gary Kubiak said he plans to alternate the days Colvin and N.D. Kalu work. There are other veteran players, like Ahman Green, who will be in similar situations.

Kalu and Colvin are both working to make the team as pass-rushing specialists.

“They’re a lot alike as players,” Kubiak said. “They’re undersized ends that rush the passer. So from that standpoint, they’re very much alike and they’ve both been playing a long time, so I think it’s natural for us to stagger them in practice.”

Nose to the grindstone

Guard Mike Brisiel returned to practice after fracturing his nose during Friday’s non-contact practice. He wore a white splint over his nose during both practices Saturday.

In the afternoon, when the rest of his teammates wore baseball caps during drills, Brisiel wore a helmet to protect his nose.

“You guys can see what he’s all about,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “He’s out here today, and he’s going to be kind of tough to get off the field.”

Johnson on track

Andre Johnson has shown no lingering signs of a knee problem that caused him to miss seven starts last season and undergo arthroscopic surgery in the offseason.

He has been running well and beating defensive backs to make big catches downfield.

“My knee is feeling fine,” Johnson said. “I haven’t really had any problems with it. I’m just trying to get ready for the season.”

Reception, then Reliant

Running back Chris Brown arrived for his first day of training camp Saturday. He missed Friday’s practices because of a wedding in his family.

The Browns used a second-round pick in 2003 on outside linebacker Chaun Thompson, and during his five-year career in Cleveland, he went from being a starter to the proverbial jack of all trades.

During the past two seasons, Thompson was a special-teams standout who played a reserve role at outside and inside linebacker in a 3-4. He also played defensive end in passing situations.

The Texans are using Thompson as a backup middle linebacker behind DeMeco Ryans, but they also want him to drop down to see if they can use his quickness off the ball to pressure the quarterback. Thompson is probably the only middle linebacker in the league who drops to rush the passer.